Apparatus for coating strands



Patented Dec. 10, 1940 Edwin .1. Fisher, Kirkersville,

Ohio, aslignor, by

mesne assignments, to Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation, acorporation of Delaware Appiication April 1, 1938, Serial N6. 199,499

(01. sir-3s) 7 Claims.

The present invention relates to a novel apparatus for applying acoating material to a multiplicity of glass filaments which have beenmechanically drawn and are being grouped in the form of a strandsuitable for textile or other purposes. The coating may serve forlubrication purposes to prevent filaments within the strand fromscratching each other, and it may also serve for binding or sizingpurposes to give mass 10 integrity to the group of filaments in strandform, and to prevent loose ends from fraying or breaking apart from thestrands.

' In the mechanical drawing method of proucing substantially endlessfilaments of glass having extremelyfine diameters,

as, for example,

of the order of magnitude of about .0002 inch in diameter, more or less,of course, as desired, I

extremely high rates of attenuation are desired. This speed ofattenuation has been found to be limited not so much by the speeds atwhich the individual filaments could be produced, that is, thefilamentizing process per se, but by the speed at which the filamentscould be grouped together and coated to produce a usable strand. Whenspecially high speeds of attenuation are being utilized, as, forexample, over about 5,000 feet per minute and preferably greater speeds,as,

, for example, about 10,000'or more feet per minute, the friction causedby the sizing process upon the tiny filaments has proved to be excessiveso that many of them break and production is halted.

Moreover, when the strands which were produced had their sizing removed,as, for example, in a suitable solvent for the particular coatingmaterial applied, it was noted that the filaments in the strand brokeapart at intervals along the length of the strand, some of the filamentsbowing out more than others, indicating that actu- 40 ally the filamentswere of unequal length. This produced an unbalanced condition in thestrand which fostered breakage and fraying during subsequentmanipulation, and in general led to a reduction in strength and qualityof the finished 5 product.

The present invention aims to overcome the aforementioned difllcultiesand to produce a strand having uniformly attenuated filaments which willnormally lie adjacent one another in 0 a coherent balanced strand.

It is another object of the invention to satisfactorily apply a coatingto the individual filaments moving at speeds of attenuation heretoforeimpossible.

55 It is still another object'of the invention to grammatically; and

reduce the amoimt of friction caused by the grouping and/or sizingoperation and to prevent friction from acting unequally upon theindividual filaments within the strand.

An ancillary object of the invention is to pro- 5 vide a strand whichhas substantially no broken ends, and which may be packaged on a spoolwithout difiiculty, and from which spool the strand may readily beunwound.

Another object of the present invention is to 10 smooth out the jerks inthe drawing process caused by the traversing of the strand as it iswoimd on a package and to permit the strand to remain in the center ofthe groove or other concave section of the sizing guide.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description taken in conjunction with thedrawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of my novel sizing apparatus, shown inconnection with a filamentizingapparatus and a packaging spool, the lasttwo elements being illustrated more or less dia- Fig. 2 is a fragmentaryperspective view of my novel sizing apparatus.

The present invention is based in part upon the discovery that byproviding yieldability to the guide which serves to group the filamentsinto a strand and apply a coating substance, the above mentioneddifiiculties encountered with the grouping and sizing operation may beeliminated. I have discovered that, for some reason yet incompletelyexplained, the imperfections in the strand and tendency of the fibers tobreak apart when the sizing material is removed,v as noted hereinabove,is not encountered when the gathering guide is mounted upon a spring orother suitable means permitting the eye to yield under slightlyincreased pressure. Moreover, with the guide thus yieldingly mounted,the speed of attenuation of the fibers may be materially increased andthe strands produced thereby have increased uniformity and quality andmay be readily unwound from the package without fraying or snarling.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, reference character 5designates broadly a filamentizing apparatus wherein a multiplicity ofindividual filaments 6 are simultaneously being supplied continuallyfrom a single source such as a feeder l or other supply means and arebeing drawn and attenuated by means of a revolving spool or drum 9 onwhich the fibers are wound to form a package i0 thereon. A blower IIwhich 55 may be provided in proximity to the feeder TI, is adapted tochill the glass as it emerges from the feeder, although the presentinvention is not limited to any particular filamentizing apparatus.

The filaments 6 as they emerge from the filamentizing apparatus I aregrouped together and drawn over a concave guide I2 in the form of agroove or'eye which serves to size the filaments and simultaneouslygroup them into a strand I3. In being drawn over the guide I2, thefilaments are preferably turned through as small an angle as possible inorder to reduce to a minimum the amount of force exerted by the strandupon the guide and the resultant friction. The strand I3 may then betraversed by means of traverse- I4 which assists in the formation of thepackage I0 upon thedrumor spool 9.

The gathering and lubrication guide I2 is preferably made from a verylight metal, such as aluminum, in order to keep its inertia as low aspossible. The free end of'the guide is provided with a groove 4 (seeFig. 2) having a rounded outer surface which may be covered by means ofa pad I 2 composed of suitable porous material such as a felt, muslin,sponge, cloth, or the like. The upper portion I5 of the guide I2 is inthe form of an inclined trough upon which the coating substance may befed and introduced to the groove 4 over which the filaments are drawn.The guide I2 may be fastened to a support It by means of a screw H orthe like. The support I6 is preferably provided with two upstandingflanges I8, one at each end thereof, and each. se-

cured to and suspended from yielding means I9 which are preferably inthe form of flexible metal tapes, composed, for example, of spring steelor the like. The upper ends of the tapes I9 may be secured to an uppersupport 20 having dimensions comparable to the lower support I6, wherebysupports II; and 20 and the tapes-I9 define a parallelogram which givesapproximately straight line motion to the guide I 2 as it is moved bythe strand I3. The upper support 20 may be mounted upon a lug 50 bymeans of set screws 5|. In order to permit pivoting of the system underthe influence of the traversing movement of the strand I3, the lug 50may be pivotally secured to a bushing 2| which is located at the bottomof a sizing container 22. A bolt 53 may be provided to hold the lug inplace and permit the same to pivot in relation to the container 22.

The container 22 is provided with an outlet orifice 23 through whichsizing material may be fed. A conduit 24 communicates with the outlet 23and serves to convey the sizing material to the guide I2 bygravitational means. An adjusting needle 25 fits into the orifice 23 andmay be placed in any desired vertical position by means of an adjustingpin 26, similar in design to a conven- I tional oil dripper.

Arranged preferably in the lower portion of the container 22 is aheating means 28, such as an immersion type heater using electricalenergy supplied through the electrical connections 29.

The container 22 may be adjustably mounted upon a suitable elbow towhich it is pivotally attached for tilting movement by means of a pivotbolt 3|, The container is held in any desired position of adjustment bymeans of a screw rod 32 and wing nut 33.

The elbow 30 in turn may be mounted upon one end of an arm 35 having acollar 36 at the opposite end thereof, fitting around a verticalsupporting rod 31.. The collar 36 may swing around on the rod 31 and beheld in adjusted position by means of the bolt and nut 38.

Depending from the elbow 30 is a system of rods 40 having an adjustableconnection 4i. Supported at the free end thereof is a cup 42 which 5 isspaced below the guide I 2 to receive any surplus drippings of sizingmaterial which may fall from the guide I2. As shown in Fig. 2,. the cupmay be provided with an opening 44 through which the strand I3 may passwithout touching the sides of 10 the cup. When not in operation the cupmay be swung about the connection 4| out of the path of the strand I3.

In operation of the present device, a suitable coating material such aswax,'animal, vegetable 15 or mineral oils, starch, agar agar, fats,sulphonated oils, bitumens, fatty acids, alcohols, glue, esters, gluten,soaps, pectin, rubber, latex, varnish, shellac, resins, plastics,cellulose compounds, cellulose derivatives, or combinations thereof,whether inmolten condition, solution form, or in the form of anemulsion, may be held in the container 22, heated to the desiredtemperature by means of the heater 28, and fed through the orifice 23and through the conduit 24 to the guide I2. The pad I2 may be saturatedwith the coating material, especially the groove 4 around which thefilaments 6 are drawn. The filaments in being drawn over the pad I2 arelubricated by the liquid coating material and are simultaneously coatedthereby. In traveling from the guide I2 to the package III, the coatingmaterial may be sufliciently solidified that it wfll not cause theadjacent strands upon the package to adhere to one another. However,when such substances as 35 oils, thin solutions or emulsions areapplied, the coating may remain substantially in' a fluid or slightlyviscous condition on the package which, however, does not prevent thestrand from being unwound.

Should any filament 6 break during its attenuation, an operator mayrestart the stream flow by means of a bait or the like and after apreliminary attenuation may draw the filament adjacent the others acrossthe groove 4, and as it 45 takes on its allotment of coating material,it joins with the other filaments in the strand and passes oninto thepackage automatically.

It is to be observed that in the process of ooating, the guide I2 issupported yieldingly by means 60 of the flexible tapes I9 so that whenthe strand I3 is subjected to any unusual stresses or irregular pullingforces, even of minute magnitude, the guide I2 will yield, maintaining asubstantially uniform friction and force against the strand.

Moreover, as the strand is traversed back and forth by the traverse I4,the guide I2 is permitted to follow the sideway movements by oscillatingaround the axis of the bolt 53, and thus any jerking movements emanatingfrom the packaging process are smoothed out and dissipated. This vidualglass filaments in strand form as they are continuously beingattentuated, which comprises a light weight, concave guide over whichsaid individual filaments are drawn and over which they converge intostrand form, means for feeding a coating substance to said guide for ap-7 plication to said strand and yielding means for supporting said guideand permitting said guide to yield with sensitivity in a directiontransverse to the movement of said strand under varying stresses in saidstrand.

2. Apparatus for simultaneously grouping and sizing a multiplicity oflong glass filaments as they are being attenuated which comprises aconcave guide over which said filaments are drawn and by which they aregrouped into strand form, a spring upon which saidguide is mountedserving to permt yieldability of said guide under varying stresses insaid strands, and means for applying a sizing material to said guide forcoating the filaments as they are drawn thereover.

3. Apparatus for sizing a multiplicity of glass filaments simultaneouslyas they are being grouped into strand form, which comprises a guide overwhich said filaments are drawn, means for supplying a coating materialto said guide, and means for yieldingly supporting said guide to permitsensitive retraction of said guide under the influence of irregularstresses in said strand.

4. Apparatus for sizing a multiplicity of glass filaments simultaneouslyas they are being grouped into strand form which comprises a guidehaving a groove therein over which said filaments are drawn, meansforsupplying a coating material to the surface of said guide and permittingthe same to coat said filaments," and means for supporting said guide,said means comprising flexible metal tapes upon which said guideissuspended.

5. Apparatus for sizing a multiplicity of glass filaments simultaneouslyas they are being grouped into strand form which comprises a guidehaving a groove therein over which said 3 filaments are drawn, means forsupplying a coating material to the surface of said guide and permittingthe same to coat said filaments, and means for supporting said guide,said means comprisng at least two flexible metal tapes spaced apart fromone another and arranged substantially parallel to one another, uponwhich said I guide is suspended, said tapes adapted to permitsubstantially straight line retractive movement of said guide asirregular stresses are induced in said strand.

6. Apparatus for sizing. a multiplicity of glass filaments after theyhave been attenuated and while they are being grouped into strand form,which comprises a guide having a groove at the drawn into strand form, apad over said groove capable of being saturated with a coating material,means for supplying coating material to said pad, and a spring uponwhich said guide is mounted to permit sensitive yieldability of saidguide under the stresses present in said strands.

7. Apparatus for simultaneously grouping and sizing a multiplicity oflong glass filaments as they are being attenuated, which comprises aconcave guide over which said filaments are drawn and by which they aregrouped into strand form, a spring upon which said guide is mountedserving to permit yieldability or said guide under varying stresses insaid strand, means for permitting said guide to move transversely totheirection of travel of said strand to compensate for lateral movements ortraversing or said strand, and means for applying a sizing material tosaid guide for coating the filaments as they are drawn thereover.

- EDWIN J. FISHER.

free end thereof over which said filaments are

